This invention relates to disinfectant compositions, and more particularly to a pelletized disinfectant salt composition for use in water softening systems.
Disinfection of domestic water supplies in the United States by chlorination has been practiced since the late 1800's. Early methods utilized chlorinated lime, sodium and calcium hypochlorite, or chlorine gas added to water systems at a central location. The use of chlorinated cyanurates as a convenient source of available chlorine for bleaching and disinfectant purposes has also been popular for several years. These organic compounds, generally classified as chloramines, contain chlorine bearing nitrogen atoms located between a pair of carbonyl (C.dbd.O) groups and have been found to exhibit good stability as well as bactericidal properties in water.
In recent years, the increasing numbers of backyard swimming pools has created a need for disinfecting compositions which are added directly to the water by the individual consumer. Both hypochlorite and chlorinated cyanurate compounds have found use in swimming pools as disinfectants. See, for example, Hilton, "The Chlorinated Cyanurates", Swimming Pool Age, Nov. 1961.
In European countries, there has been a recognition of the problem of possible bacterial growth in brine solutions used to regenerate water conditioning systems. Bacterial growth in such solutions could contaminate domestic drinking water supplies if bacteria remained in the ion exchange resin column after a regeneration cycle. Efforts have been made in Europe to combat this problem by treating the ion exchange columns after each regeneration cycle with chemicals or in some cases with silver impregnated resins that have been dispersed into such columns. However, chloramine compounds, one of the chemicals used, do not react rapidly and require contact times of at least two hours to disinfect effectively a water supply. See, W. Hardenbergh, Water Supply and Purification 413 (1952). Such long contact times are impractical for domestic water conditioning systems since the ion exchange resin would be unavailable to perform its softening function for extended time periods. Use of silver impregnated ion exchange resins in the resin column likewise is impractical because of the high cost of such resins and the ineffectiveness of silver compounds in disinfecting water supplies. Id. at 416.
Accordingly, the need exists in the field of domestic water conditioning for a means to disinfect effectively brine solutions used for regeneration of ion exchange resins thus avoiding contamination of such resins and resulting in a minimum of time for which the water conditioning unit is unavailable to perform its softening function.